Consumers have been increasingly receptive to new personal washing systems that provide better skin care, greater refreshment or that have generally led to a more pleasurable bathing and showering experience. Although toilet bars are still widely used because of their convenient form and simplicity, liquid products and more recently sheets have grown in popularity.
Consumers recognize that liquids provide excellent skin care and fragrance attributes. However, this product form does not lather well without the use of an additional implement and without such an implement, liquids are not perceived as economical. Sheets in contrast, lather well but are generally single-usage forms and thus are primarily used in facial washing where the perceived benefits more readily justifies their higher cost.
Liquid and sheet personal washing forms have primarily been targeted to female consumers, and these forms are not so widely used by men who often prefer bars for their convenience and refreshment qualities.
Thus, there is a need for cleansing articles that have the convenience and economy of a bar but that deliver the sensory and skin care benefits of a liquid.
The following patents and publications form a part of the related art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,446 describes plastic mesh pads and sponges impregnated with a soft paste-like cleansing composition including an alkali metal phosphate, a wetting agent, fatty acid soap, a chelating agent and surfactant. The articles are designed to be used as large size scouring pieces for cleaning tires, vinyl tops and trims, bumpers and other surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,137 describes a gel-impregnated sponge composed of two layers: one layer is impregnated with a hardened gel material and one layer is an unimpregnated sponge.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,506 describes a bar soap having a sponge core which is revealed after the soap bar is reduced to a sliver, said sponge core providing support and preventing breakage of the sliver thus reducing wastage.
U.S. Pat Application Publication No. 2003/0220212 A1 describes bar soap reinforced with a reinforcement member such as a mesh to prolong the usage of the bar.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,079 describes a scrubbing soap bar composed of vegetable oil and glycerin into which is partially imbedded a thin fine-mesh netting that serves as a feature to facilitate grasping and holding the bar.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,225 relates to a bathing and cleansing article in the form a scrub brush specifically made to contain or hold a bar of soap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,550 describes a seamless fibrous, soap-filled pad in the form of an envelope that surrounds a solid soap, which is held in integral form by the entanglement of the fibers.
U.S. Pat Application Publication No. 2004/0033915 A1 relates to cleansing bars including a cleansing composition and a plurality of discrete elements (e.g., fibers) having a length to diameter ratio of from about 50 to 1 to about 100,000 to 1.
EP 1 266 599 A1 describes a solid cleanser holder composed of an apertured textured film surrounding a solid cleanser. The film reduces slip, exfoliates and enhances lather.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0113270 A1 to Stockman et al published May 26, 2005 relates to scrubbing soap bar having an embedded scrubbing element.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,6896,435 to James W. Rink issued May 24, 2005, describes a slip-resistant floating soap having two outer convex shaped layers of soap connected by a water impermeable buoyant material extending around the outer soap layers to provide slip resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,182 to Chung Min Liao issued May 17, 2005 describes a soap device having an embedded spongy or perforated cleansing device.
The present invention seeks improvements over deficiencies in the known art. Among the one or more problems addressed include the development of a personal cleansing article having a higher delivery of fragrance, and other hydrophobic benefit agents, that is convenient and economical to use.